


Public Displays of Affection

by Cerona



Category: League of Legends RPF
Genre: Angst, But he's trying, Hurt/Comfort, Hyli is an idiot, M/M, talking things out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:08:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27159100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerona/pseuds/Cerona
Summary: After a fight with his boyfriend over kissing each other in public, Zdravets returns to their apartment and must make amends, or else he risks losing Gabriel forever.
Relationships: Zdravets "Hylissang" Galabov/Gabriël "Bwipo" Rauh
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Public Displays of Affection

**Author's Note:**

  * For [scorpia_tiger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scorpia_tiger/gifts).



> A birthday present to the lovely scorpia_tiger, who has been amazing friend in this fandom.

Zdravets closed the door to his apartment, and cringed at the silence. Even when he was alone, Gabriel would usually be humming some catchy tune to himself or have their sound system be hooked up to his playlist. Tonight there would be no such creature comforts and the Bulgarian was man enough to admit that _may_ have been his fault.

He stalked deeper into the apartment, almost on his tiptoes so as to avoid making a sound, and found Gabriel curled up on the couch, eyes fixed on his phone. From this angle, Zdravets could see that his boyfriend was scrolling through pictures of them together. The sight made his heart quiver and his determination swell. He was going to make this right. He took in a deep breath and knocked on the wall to get the toplaner’s attention.

Gabriel jumped and spun around, a look of surprise as his eyes landed on Zdravets. The support didn’t even want to delve into the implications of that looked. He cleared his throat. “Hi.”

“Hey,” Gabriel replied. It wasn’t a complete rejection. Zdravets could work with this.

“We, uh–” God help him, why did he have to be such an idiot to get into this situation. “–We should probably talk about what happened, shouldn’t we?”

“We should, I guess.” Gabriel wouldn’t meet his eyes, and that’s how Zdravets knew he really fucked up. He had to fix this. Gabriel was too important for him to lose.

“Do you mind if I take a seat?” Zdravets asked, nudging his head towards the other end of the sofa.

Gabriel shrugged. “It’s your apartment too.”

These brief, clipped responses was not helping the Support’s sanity at all. It would have been better if Gabriel was screaming at him, shouting at him to get out. He would even settle for the non-stop chatterbox Bwipo. This was something else entirely.

He took a seat at the sofa, slowly, as if he was entering a tiger’s den with said tiger staring him down. One wrong move could send all he had worked for tumbling down.

For a moment there was only silence, both of them daring the other to break it. And then–

“I’m so sorry–”

“I’m really sorry, Gabriel. I didn’t mean to–”

They both stopped and blinked at each other. For the first time that night Zdravets felt a twinge of hope that everything is going to turn out just fine.

Gabriel tilted his head, looked at his boyfriend for a moment, and then said. “You go first.”

Zdravets gulped. He couldn’t refuse even if he wanted to. This was his sin to bear. _Here goes nothing_. “I am so, _so_ sorry, Gabriel. I shouldn’t have pushed you away at the park, and I definitely shouldn’t have blown up on you after that. It’s just—” He hesitated, tongue tied, feeling like an absolute asshole for what he was about to say next. “—you know how I am. I’m just not ready to go all out on the PDA just yet.”

Gabriel stared at him, unblinking, with a blank look on his face. This was not the first time they have had this conversation, which was how Zdravets knew he needed to press further on. “But I’ve been thinking while I was out there—”

“Oh God,” Gabriel gasped, eyes cracked with tears. “This is it. You’re going to break up with me.”

What?

“What? No!” Instantly, Zdravets closed the gap between them, clutching Gabriel’s hands in his own. “No! I would never. Gabriel, you are the best thing to have ever happened to me. I would be a fool to let you go.” That his boyfriend even considered the idea that Zdravets would break up with him was nothing short of a disaster. He had to fix this. Now. “How could you even think that?”

“Because it always feels like you’re ashamed of me,” Gabriel sobbed. “You wouldn’t even hold my hand when we’re outside, and we’re barely even out to our teammates. It feels like we’re only couple in here and outside we’re just Bwipo and Hylissang.” He sniffled, and Zdravets reached out to wipe the tears away. “B-But I get it, alright? I know it’s not that easy, and I know I’m not exactly a catch—”

“What are you talking about?” Zdravets interrupted. He couldn’t let this go any farther. “You are the kindest, funniest, most talented person I know. If anything you should be ashamed of me.”

He took a deep breath to calm his heart. “What I was trying to say was that I’ve been thinking and you deserve so, _so_ much more than what I could offer you—”

“—This still feels suspiciously like break up line.”

“Gabriel, honey, I love you, but we’re never going to get anywhere If you keep interrupting. And I promise you, I don’t want to break up.” He squeezed his boyfriend’s hand, and his heart soared when Gabriel squeezed back.

“As I was saying, you deserve far more than what I can give you – what I _have_ given you. You deserve someone who isn’t afraid to kiss you and snuggle you in broad daylight. A-And I know I haven’t done a good job at it, but I want to be that person for you.”

“Zdravets…”

“I know I don’t have anything to back up my words. So I’m begging you, please give me another chance.”

“Zdravets, wait.” Gabriel pulled away. For a moment Zdravets thought that this was it, Gabriel would come to his senses and leave him, but no. Instead, his boyfriend enveloped him in a big hug, and the Bulgarian couldn’t help but bury his face on the crook of the toplaner’s neck. “Of course I will give you another chance. I love you far too much to not to.”

“But Zdravets, I don’t want you to change who you are or your habits because of me. I love you for who you are right now.”

“But that’s so unfair to you,” Zdravets argued. “A relationship should be about compromise, no? You want that type of relationship, and you’ve given up so much for me already. I want to give back to you.”

Gabriel shook his head. “I don’t want you to do something that makes you uncomfortable. Earlier today, me trying to kiss you in the park like that? That was me being stupid. You don’t have to change yourself because of my mistake.”

“It wasn’t a mistake,” Zdravets corrected. “You have every right to want to show affection to your boyfriend in public, and a boyfriend who isn’t brave enough to receive that from you in public doesn’t deserve. That’s why— That’s why I want to be that person. Someone who isn’t afraid to kiss you in public.”

“Zdravets,” Gabriel said, on the verge of tears. “You’re really serious about this.”

“I am,” Zdravets nodded with conviction. “You deserve the world, Gabriel. I can’t give you that, so at the very least I will give you my best.”

That was enough. Bwipo lurched forward, pressing his lips on Zdravets’ own, and the support gladly accepted. He half-laughed through the kiss, partly out of relief and partly out of pure joy. They could fix this. They will.

Somehow, as always when they fooled around, he found himself atop Gabriel, the toplaner’s thick body a natural cushion. They broke apart for air, and Gabriel grinned up at him. “I’m so glad,” he said, breathless. “When you walked away I was afraid you were going to end things between us.”

Zdravets shook his head, a smile on his face. “Why would I ever want to leave my favorite teddy bear?” he reached down and rubbed his boyfriend’s belly, eliciting a laugh. “I never want to be the reason you’re sad again, ever. That’s why I’m giving it my one-hundred percent.”

They locked their fingers together. “We can take things slow,” Gabriel offered. “It would be disaster if we suddenly kissed in front of the cameras. How about the next time we head to the office we can just – I don’t know – hold hands?”

Zdravets wanted to disagree with that, but even he knew he had limits. “Okay,” he agreed. “Okay, we’ll take it slow.” He laid his head on Gabriel’s chest, ears pressed to hear the steady beat of his boyfriend’s heart. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”


End file.
